Diageo joins with Diddy in DeLeon Tequila Venture

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Sean "Diddy" Combs did it again, the celebrity rapper turned business mogal gets together with Diadeo in a joint venture on a new brand of boutique styled tequila. Diddy has been the face of ciroc since 2007, but he is really excited about this deal. In an interview Diddy explained by saying:

"With Ciroc, we dated. Now with DeLeon, we're married. This deal is way better, this makes me a true owner."

Diageo expects to replace the sales and profit losted last year when it stopped selling Jose Cuervo, which is the world's top-selling tequila. This happened when they let its distribution agreement with Cuervo's owner, the Beckmann family expire after failing to get an equity stake. This hurt the brand tremendously.

“If we can get the accelerator on DeLeon like we had on Ciroc, two years is within reason,” Schwartz said, adding that “this isn’t going to be the last entry into tequila for Diageo going forward”.

Financial terms were not disclosed on Wednesday, but Diageo North America President Larry Schwartz stated "For me, it's all about the profitability." Since Diageo brought Combs on board Ciroc sales have grown from 50,000 nine-litre cases a year to nearly 2 million, so high profits are expected. Schwartz also stated, “Sean (Combs) is a proven growth driver".

About 85% of the world’s tequila is drunk in Mexico (where it is made) and the US. The United States imports of tequila increased by nearly 72% to 12.3 million cases in the 10 years. According to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, this increase is fuelled by the emergence of high-end and super-premium brands. Other tequilas include Patron, Beam Inc’s, Sauza, Bacardi’s Cazadores, just to name a few.

The American record producer, rapper, actor and business mogal knows what he is doing and he is making a stamp in this world, and we approve. We see you Diddy, keep going you make Hip Hop proud.